


Thunder in my heart

by memelovescaps



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bilbo is afraid of thunderstorms, Eventual Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Fear of Thunderstorms, Gen, Hurt Bilbo Baggins, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Bilbo Baggins, POV Thorin, Protective Thorin, Thilbo, Thilbo Bagginshield - Freeform, Thorin Feels, Thorin is a Softie, bagginshield, bilbo/thorin - Freeform, thorin/bilbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26305294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memelovescaps/pseuds/memelovescaps
Summary: Set after An Unexpected Journey.After the eagles leave them on top of the Carrock, Thorin Oakenshield's company resume their quest until a thunderstorm gets in their way. What nobody knows is that Bilbo is terrified of thunderstorms. Thorin decides to do something about it.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins & Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Comments: 5
Kudos: 123





	Thunder in my heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hi dear readers!  
> I started this scene back in 2014, around the time BOFA came out, but I never finished until now. I know it comes a few years later, but if you're still in the Thilbo Bagginshield fandom, I hope you like it!  
> As usual, nothing belongs to me.  
> ENJOY!

The first drops of rain took the Company by surprise.

After the eagles had dropped them off on top of the Carrock, the Company of Thorin Oakenshield decided to make their way down the mountain. Gandalf insisted on resting after their descent, all of them weary from escaping the Goblin Town and Thorin still hadn’t had time to breathe or even check the injuries of his fight against Azog the Defiler. However, the stubborn dwarfish prince refused to set camp so close to where the eagles had left them, fearing the Orcs would find them too soon, and instead pushed the entire company to put as much distance as they could between them and the Orc pack. 

They didn’t stop much to rest, covering as much distance as they possibly could in one day, having been walking since sunrise. It was starting to get dark when Thorin finally relented and stopped, letting them rest on a clearing. Grateful to finally stop and breathe, none of them realized the clouds moving fast above them and threatening with rain. By the time they had left their belongings on the floor and were getting everything ready to prepare dinner, a sudden storm took all of them by surprise and made them pack in a hurry and run towards the scarce refuge the steep mountains could provide.

Bilbo tried to keep his hood up but the raging storm, wind and pouring rain kept pushing it back, leaving a very wet, uncomfortable and cold Hobbit. He tried to push down his dread at storms, he’d always been afraid of them. Rain and wind he could live with, thunder and lightning? Not so much. He gulped and closed his hands in fists when he could see the sky lit by a flash of huge lightning and, a few seconds later, he heard the roar of loud thunder. His body was shaking and he knew it wasn’t entirely due to the cold rain, but he wasn’t about to let a stupid rainstorm get the better of him now.

“We cannot stay here, Thorin! The thunderstorm is coming closer!” Bilbo heard Gandalf shouting from the back of the group. He tried to distinguish the dwarfish prince and he could only recognize him by his coat, he couldn’t make out what he was telling Dwalin over the pouring rain. He only heard Fili and Kili’s groans and mutterings, incapable of understanding what they were saying but too exhausted and scared to try anyway; the rest of the company were silent.

He couldn’t say he disagreed with Gandalf, they needed to find shelter and they needed it now. Bilbo’s trousers and coat were drenched and it was starting to get difficult to walk, plus the path was muddy from the water and it made him tumble every few steps. It wasn’t easier for the sturdy dwarves either, they were used to walking in the rain but their heavy boots and winter clothes made it all the more difficult for them to move, and more than once their feet had just got stuck in the mud. Bilbo just focused on getting one foot before the other and not let out a scream or jump whenever there was a thunder closeby. 

“IN HERE!” He heard Dwalin’s voice in the long distance. Bilbo looked up and saw the dwarf maybe less than half a mile away, hard to distinguish amid the rain falling incessantly from the clouds above them. He realized he must’ve lost track of time because one second Thorin had been speaking to Dwalin, and the next the dwarf was signalling towards a nearby cave he’d scouted. Bilbo thought, in the haze of his exhausted mental state, that Dwalin must’ve run ahead to try and find them shelter. The Company would’ve cheered but they were all too exhausted to even do that, with silent and slow steps they walked towards the entrance of the small cave where Dwalin was waiting for them. 

In the minutes it took them to arrive at the entrance of the cave the thunderstorm had come upon them, the rain even stronger than before, the wind blowing against Bilbo’s face and making walking even harder, and thunder and lightning were falling now every few seconds. He gulped and tried to push down his fear, wanting nothing more than get inside the cave and get as far away from the rain and thunder as possible, so he put one foot after the other, careful not to be left behind by the dwarves who were walking towards the cave at a much faster pace than he was.

When he got in he breathed deeply, taking his hood off and shaking his head to get rid of the excess wetness on his hair and face. 

However, a bolt of huge lightning fell incredibly close to the entrance of the cave, and the loud roaring of thunder followed it a mere second later, it had fallen very close to where they’d been walking not long ago. Now that Bilbo was inside a cave he jumped at the roaring sound, feeling his insides churn uncomfortably, his entire body tense and his breathing erratic. He glanced over the dwarves and Gandalf with wide, scared eyes, and seeing as nobody paid any attention to him he moved towards the back of the cave. He needed to calm the heck down! His hand gripped the cold wall of rock and he rested his side on it, giving his back to the entrance of the cave and his travelling companions and trying to regain some composure and calming his fast-beating heart when he heard another roar of thunder that made him jolt.

He tried. He really tried to stop the tears, to stifle his sobs, to apply logic to his irrational fear of thunderstorms. He’d only just got in Thorin’s good graces, what would he think now? He was already considering him unfit for their quest, and now that he was finally seeing him with good eyes, he’d see him as what he really was: a nobody, a mere hobbit from the Shire who got scared of a simple thunderstorm. He would’ve laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, but as it was, he curled up in a ball near the wall and wished nobody realized where he was.

Once inside the cave, Thorin breathed deeply, willing his shoulders to relax. They were safe, for now. Thunderstorms are never good travelling companions and he’d learnt in his travels that it’s better to avoid them, but he’d been unable to find them any place to rest and wait until the storm cleared out. Thank Dwalin and his eyes like a hawk to find them shelter to spend the night, they couldn’t travel in this storm and he was sure they would welcome the rest. The dwarfish prince grabbed his long hair with both hands and pressed it to wring out all the excess water. While he did that he was counting, and suddenly he realized they were one member short. Where was Bilbo? His hands left his still-damp hair, his eyes frantically looking around the cave.

“Master Baggins?”

Thorin’s voice echoed in the cave despite the rain and thunderstorm outside. The others stopped what they were doing, the shushed conversations dying down instantly, and started looking everywhere for their burglar.

“Bilbo!” Kili shouted, and Thorin turned around to see something that would surely haunt him in his sleep. Bilbo Baggins, their burglar, was curled up against the wall at the far end of the cave. He was clearly trembling, hiding his face between his arms whilst hugging his knees, and his sobs, even when muffled, resonated in the cave when the rest of the dwarfs were silent.

Kili took a few steps towards him but when he wanted to kneel in front of him Bilbo squeaked and jumped from his reach. Thorin looked at the hobbit and then to Kili, who froze in the same position still with his arm stretched out. The dwarf sighed deeply as he got up and returned silently towards the rest of the Company, Fili quickly passing an arm over his shoulders. But Thorin’s eyes could only look at Bilbo, something in his chest breaking at the sight in front of him: his shoulders heaving with each sob, his hands grabbing the fabric of his velvet coat until his knuckles went white, his incessant trembling, the noises he could hear even if he tried to stifle his whimpering…

Ever since he’d hugged him hours ago on the top of the Carrock, his heart jolted every time his eyes locked with the hobbit’s, and he suddenly felt so much more connected to him. He desired nothing more than getting closer to him, get to know him, and right every wrong he had done over the past of the few weeks they had been travelling together. Thorin felt ashamed at his previous behaviour, and now that he was seeing Bilbo so terrified, attempting to muffle his sobs but unable to do so something inside him churned, he couldn’t stay there and do nothing any longer.

He took a few steps towards the hobbit, making sure to make a sound with each step so Bilbo could hear him and not be startled. The hobbit did hear him and squeaked again when Thorin knelt right in front of him, ignoring the pain of his injuries, but when Bilbo tried to move away from the dwarfish prince he didn’t allow it. Thorin put a hand on his arm, trying not to bruise him but with enough force so he would be still in place. Bilbo fought and struggled, starting to scream, but Thorin noticed he would keep staring down and wouldn’t look at him. With one hand he managed to grab both his hands and with the other, he grabbed his shoulder.

“Mas… Bilbo” Thorin whispered with a gentle and clear voice “Bilbo, listen to me.”

But Bilbo didn’t listen, he seemed to be caught in a nightmare of sorts although he was awake, he struggled to break free until Thorin saw no other way to stop his fighting than pulling him in a rather fierce embrace. Bilbo tensed even more and grew still, and Thorin took advantage of that to release his hands and shift him closer, guiding the hobbit to hide his face against his fur cloak. 

“It’s all right…” Thorin whispered, resting his large, calloused hand on his back and pressing him against his warm body “nothing will harm you here, we’re safe…”

Bilbo’s body tensed even more and he yelped when another lightning crashed very near and a great thunder could be heard instantly, but Thorin closed his embrace and kept Bilbo surrounded by his rather large arms. The hobbit’s sobs didn’t diminish and Thorin noticed that now that his hands were free he was desperately grabbing his cloak, keeping him in place.

“Shhh…” Thorin was murmuring things next to his ear, his voice softly humming against him as he gently swayed them “I’m not going anywhere Bilbo, you’re safe here…”

Behind him, Thorin heard the dwarfs starting to unpack the few things they had and he heard the noise of wood, miraculously Bifur and Bofur had managed to salvage a few from the raging storm. A few minutes later a fire was burning in the cave, keeping them safe and warm against the cold rain they had been exposed to. 

As he heard the fire crackling Thorin noticed that Bilbo was beginning to calm down. The sobbing had stopped a while ago and although the trembling was still present, it wasn’t as violent as it had been. Slowly Thorin released Bilbo from his fierce embrace and gently took both his cheeks in his calloused hands, making him look up to him. Bilbo was looking away and he saw his cheeks were slightly blushed, but Thorin smiled.

“There’s nothing wrong in being afraid of a thunderstorm” Thorin whispered in a candid tone Bilbo had never heard coming from the dwarf. And he suddenly wished he heard more of that tone coming from him.

Bilbo finally looked at him and Thorin saw his once bright eyes were now red-rimmed, glassy and still watery from all the tears they had shed. They were also looking at him in awe, his mouth slightly open in surprise. Thorin felt his soft skin under his calloused fingers as he wiped away Bilbo’s tears, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise when he felt Bilbo reaching to rest his forehead against his and a much smaller, softer hand on his bearded cheek.

“Thank you” the hobbit breathed, his voice raspy and low, but Thorin heard it nevertheless. He smiled tenderly and nodded almost imperceptibility, knowing Bilbo would feel his appreciative gesture through their touch. The dwarf breathed in and out, feeling his heart jolt and beat faster at the way they were touching, their breaths mixing in the minimal space between them. He observed the hobbit, who’d closed his eyes and had a small smile on his face despite the tears, tears that Thorin’s fingers hurried to get rid of. He hated to see his beautiful burglar’s cheeks stained with tears, _and since when is he_ _your_ _burglar now?_ He tried to ignore his thoughts.

After a while, Bilbo shifted slightly and Thorin realized he’d been kneeling so close to Bilbo he was towering over him and nearly crashing him, in being much more robust than the small hobbit. 

He reluctantly stood up and held out his hand, which Bilbo took with a nod of his head. Thorin took him next to the fire and made him sit down while he took the liberty of gently removing the hobbit’s drenched coat. He saw Bilbo was eyeing the rest of the Company, who were whispering among each other at a safe distance from them, out of the corner of his eye but Thorin found out he didn’t mind what they thought, his first concern right now was Bilbo. The dwarfish king took off his fur cloak, which was wet on the outside but dry and warm on the inside, and wrapped it around the hobbit who looked at him curiously. Then Thorin sat next to him by the fire, wincing slightly when a sharp pain spread from the base of his spine. He ignored the pain and looked at Bilbo, shifting slightly to face him.

“Better?” he asked in a whisper. Bilbo nodded, still silent, but then he did something Thorin did not expect. 

One of his small, delicate hands went towards his torso, resting the palm against his abdomen.

“Thorin, you’re injured” he spoke in a whisper, as if afraid he’d break the magical moment if he spoke too loudly. Thorin would lie if he didn’t admit he would like to hear that raspy tone again, and pushed down the mental images of Bilbo speaking to him in hushed tones in all kinds of situations.

“It’s nothing, just a few scratches” the dwarf dismissed him in the same whispered tone “what worries me is, are you okay?”

Bilbo looked at the dwarf, and Thorin glanced back at him. He’d been so wrong... he’d never admitted just how valuable Bilbo was, how good-natured and kind, and just how much he’d grown to care for him. He’d been so blind and so stubborn, he’d closed himself off already thinking their burglar could do nothing for them, he wasn’t fit to be in the wild... and oh, how he’d surprised him.

The hobbit was full of surprises. Like now, who would’ve thought that someone so attuned to nature and to everything that grew would be so afraid of a thunderstorm? And who knew that from the moment he’d embraced Bilbo for the first time on the Carrock he would suddenly get a feeling of protection he’d only felt for his kin? Bilbo made him feel things, discover things in himself he never knew he had... and he couldn’t wait to discover more.

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine” Bilbo answered. His eyes went from the dwarf to the fire crackling in front of him, fixating on a point perhaps beyond the flames, as he cleared his throat and began to speak “I just... don’t have very good memories of thunderstorms. Whenever something bad has happened in my family, a thunderstorm always came. It... it’s illogical but... it doesn’t stop me from being scared”

His mouth closed after those words and he was avoiding Thorin’s eyes, his cheeks and ears getting a slight tone of red. Thorin smiled tenderly.

“I’m sorry storms bring back bad memories. But as I said” he whispered as he nudged the hobbit with his elbow “nothing wrong in being scared”

Thorin eyed Fili and Kili in warning, he could feel the looks of everyone in the Company on them. His nephews were trying and failing miserably at stifling their giggles, Dwalin was frowning, and most of the others wore expressions between warmth and shock while Gandalf was observing them from afar with a twinkle in his eye and amusement behind his bearded smile.

“Bombur, did we salvage something to eat? We’re hungry” Thorin asked, his voice louder and a bit authoritarian.

Bombur immediately began to rummage in his bag, trying to find things he could use to make some broth, and soon his brother Bofur and cousin Bifur, as well as Balin, went to help. Thorin saw Bilbo already making for the small group gathered around the small cauldron when he suddenly grabbed his hand to stop him.

“Stay” he whispered to the hobbit with a slight tone of urgency. He saw the unguarded surprise in Bilbo’s eyes and he tried to steel himself, loosening the strong grip he had on the hobbit’s hand although not letting it go entirely “you don’t have to help them today. Take time to recover”

“ _You_ should take time to recover” Bilbo answered, pointing at him with one finger. Thorin smiled sheepishly; if there was one thing he’d learnt from Bilbo was that he didn’t bit his tongue when he had something to say, and the fact that he’d recovered that meant he was feeling better. 

His smile turned a tender grin when there was another thunder, this time sounding more distant than the others, and Bilbo’s body jolted close to him again. He placed a hand on his back, protected by his fur cloak, and rubbed up and down.

“I am taking time” he answered, and he couldn’t help but blush when he realized just how seductive his voice had been.

Bilbo looked at him wide-eyed, but strangely, there was not a hint of fear nor rejection in his eyes. Just surprise and mild confusion. Thorin took a deep breath and allowed one of his large hands to travel to the hobbit’s face, gently cupping his cheek as his thumb chased away the few remnants of tears and raindrops he’d previously missed.

“Okay, I’ll stay” the hobbit finally relented. Thorin gasped involuntarily and felt his throat constrict when Bilbo’s breath escaped from his mouth at speaking and caressed the skin of his thumb, so close to his lips. 

His eyes widened and had to stifle a moan when Bilbo, in a fit of madness or bravery, leaned forward slightly and kissed the pad of his thumb, closing his eyes in the process. Thorin gulped, incapable of processing anything other than the warm feeling of Bilbo’s lips against his thumb, the gentle caress of the tip of his tongue pushing against his digit. 

“Only if you stay too” he heard Bilbo demand. He nodded automatically, half of his brain in a haze of pleasure and confusion he wasn’t even sure what he was agreeing to “and if you let Bofur take a look at your injuries after supper”

The dwarfish prince looked at his burglar, this hobbit for whom he felt as if he was seeing him for the first time, who’d already done so much for him without an ounce of recognition or gratitude on his part. And then, he laughed. A burst of strong, deep laughter coming from his chest that reverberated throughout the cave, and that made Bilbo smile slightly and join in.

“As you say, Master Baggins” he answered with a fond and an amused tone as he passed his arm around Bilbo’s back, pulling him in until they were curling up against each other in front of the fire “as you say” he breathed out, closing his eyes as he rested his face against the top of Bilbo’s head.

The storm raged on outside the cave, but for once in his life, Bilbo almost forgot it existed. And for once, when he let the warmth of the fire and the warmth of a certain dwarfish prince chase away the cold and dread, he thought he could finally begin to forget his fear for thunderstorms, for not everything that followed was bad. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated.  
> Hit me up on twitter or tumblr at @memelovescaps.  
> See you around!


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